Electric switch operating device



y ,28, 1953 J. o. REXROAD 2,646,693

ELECTRIC SWITCH OPERATING DEVICE Filed 0G1. 18, 1950 WITNESSES:

INVENTOR James O.Rexroad.

ATTORNEY skilled in the art.

Patented July 28, 1953 ELECT-RIC SWITCH OPERATING DEVICE James 0.Rexroad, Beaver, Pa., assignor to Westinghouse Electric Corporation,East Pittsburgh, Pa, a corporation of Pennsylvania Application October18, 1950, Serial No. 190,813

9 Claims. (01. 74479) My invention relates, generally, to electricswitches, and, more particularly, to switches which may be operated bymeans of a pull-cord.

For certain applications, for example the control of conveyor belts, itis desirable to the able to turn off the power from any point along abelt. Furthermore, in such installations, it is usually desirable thatthe power can be turned on only from a central point.

An object of my invention, generally stated, is to provide a pull-cordoperated switch which is simple and efficient in operation and which maybeeconomically manufactured and installed.

. a switch which may be operated by either one of two pull-cords whichextend in different directions from the actuating mechanism.

A further object of my invention i to provide a switch which may beoperated by either one of two actuating means.

Still another object of my invention is to prol vide a switch which canbe operated in either one of two directions by an actuating handle and Iin only one direction by a pull-cord mechanism.

Other objects of my invention will be explained fully hereinafter or'will be In accordance'with my invention, an enclosed switch is operatedby a shaft rotatably mounted ,in a bushing on which a pulley isrotatably ,mounted. The switch may be actuated either on or oil by meansof a handle secured to .junction with the accompanying drawing, inwhich:

Figure 1 is a view, in plan, of an electric switch operating deviceembodying the principal features of my invention;

Fig.2 is a View, partly in section and partly in side elevation of thedevice shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a detailed view, in section, of the pulley for operatingtheswitch; and

apparent to those Fig. 4 is a view, in an end elevation, of the switchutilized in the device.

Referring to the drawing, the structure shown therein comprises ahousing I0, a switch ll disposed inside of the housing It, a shaft l2rotatably mounted in a bushing I3 which extends through a cover 54 forthe housing IEI, a pulley I5 rotatably mounted on the bushing I3.outside of the housing I53, and a handle !6 secured to the outer end ofthe shaft I2. The switch-II may be attached to the base of the housingI0 by means of screws H. The cover it may be attached to the housing bybolts I8.

The housing It shown in the drawing is of an explosion-proof type.However, housings of other types may be utilized, if desired. A bushingI 9 is provided in one wall of the housing I!) through which wires maybe installed for making; electrical connections to the switch I I.

As shown most clearly in Fig. 4, the switch Il may be of the single-poledouble-throw type having contact arms El and 22 which are normallybiased to the closed position by springs 23 and 24, respectively. Thecontact arm ZI and 22 may be actuated alternately to the open positionby a cam 25 which is driven by a shaft 26.

As shown in Fig. 2, a switch handle 21 is provided for rotating theshaft 26. The shaft I2 is provided with a bifurcated end 28 whichengages the switch handle 2i. As previously explained, the shaft I2 irotatably mounted in the bushing I 3. The actuating handle it is securedto the outer end of the shaft 62, thereby providing a means foroperating the switch II to either the on or the off position fromoutside the housing l8.

As explained hereiribefore, the switch I I may I be utilized to controlthe power supply to an the pulley I5 and pull-cords 3I and 32 areprovided. The pulley I5 is rotatably mounted on the bushing l3 and isretained on the bushing by a clip 33 disposed in a groove 3% in thebushing IS. The pull-cords 3i and 32 may be attached to the pulley I5 bymeans of pins 35 and 33, respectively. The cords extend from the pulleyin opposite directions'and are so connected to the pulley that it can berotated in one direction only by pulling either one of the cords Whichextend along the conveyor belt (not shown). The pulley is returned tothe position shown in the drawing by means of a spring 3? having one end38 attached to the cover Hi and the other end 39 attached to the pulleyl5.

A pin 41 is secured to one side of the pulley l and is disposed toengage the actuating handle It to rotate the shaft 12 when either one ofthe cords 3! or 32 is pulled, thereby operating the switch H to the offposition. When the pull cord is released, the pulley is returned to itsnormal position by the spring 3?. However, the switch ll remains in theoff position until the handle it is operated manually to reclose theswitch. Thus, it is necessary for the operator to be at the controlstation to start the conveyor belt.

As shown, stop pins 32 and 43 are secured to one side of the pulley l5and are disposed to engage a stop pin 44 in the cover 56; to limit thetravel of the pulley l5 and protect the switch H from damage byovertravel of the pulley i5. Eye-bolts it: and 66 may be attached to thecover M to guide the pull-cords 3i and 32, respectively.

A groove pin 4? provided in the cover l l functions as a guide pin forthe bushing E3 to ensure the proper positioning of a name plate '53 onthe clip 33 which is attached to the bushing 53. ihe

pin ll also prevents rotation of the bushing l3 inthe cover I l. Whilethe pulley it has been shown as beingsuitable for operating the switchonly fromon to the 052 position, it will he understood that it could beconstructed to turn. .the switch from the off to the on position, 5

if desired.

From the foregoing, it is apparent that I have provided a devicesuitable for remotely operating a control switch from any point along aconveyor belt or similar apparatus, The operating device hereindisclosed may also be utilized for other applications requiringoperation of a switch from remote points, as well as from the point atwhich the switch itself is located. The operating device is simple andrugged in construction,

' bodiments of the invention may be made without departing from thespirit and scope thereof, it is, intended that all matter contained inthe foregoing description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall beinterpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an operatin device for a switch having an actuating member, incombination, a rotatable shaft for operating said member, a handlesecured to the shaft for actuating the shaft in either direction, apulley rotatable about the shaft, actuatin -.means secured to the pulleyto engage said handle when the pulley is rotated in one direction only,means for securing pullcords which extend from the pulley in oppositedirections to the pulley to rotate it in said one direction, and springmeans for biasing the pulley in the other direction independently ofsaid handle.

2. In an operating device for a switch having an actuating member, incombination, a rotatable shaft for operating said member, a handlesecured to the shaft for actuating the shaft in either direction,actuating means rotatable about the shaft to engage said handle when theactuating means is rotated in one direction only, means for attachingpull-cords which extend from the actuating means in opposite directionsto the actuating means to rotate it in said one direction, spring meansfor biasing the actuating means in the other direction independently ofsaid handle, and stop means for limiting the rotation of the actuatingmeans.

3. In an operating device for a switch having an actuating member, incombination, a rotatable shaft for operating said member, a handleattached to the shaft for actuating the shaft in either direction, apulley rotatable about the shaft, actuating means secured to the pulleyto engage said handle when the pulley is rotated in one direction only,means for attaching pullcords which extend from the pulley in oppositedirections to the pulley to rotate it in said one direction, said handlebeing free to rotate the shaft independently of the pulley, and stopmeans for limiting the rotation of the pulley, said pulley beinrotatable in the other direction without operating the actuating member.

i. In an operating structure for a switch disposed in a housing andhaving an actuatin member, in combination, a shaft rotatably mounted ina wall of the housing with its inner end engaging the actuating member,a handle secured to the outer end of the shaft to rotate it in eitherdirection, a pulley rotatable about the shaft, a pin secured to thepulley to engage said handle when the pulley is rotated in one directiononly, and means for attaching a pull-cord to the pulley for rotating thepulley in said one direction, said pulley being rotatable in the otherdirection without operating the actuating member.

5. In an operating structure for a switch disposed in a housing andhaving an actuating memher, in combination, a bushing extending througha wall of the housing, a shaft rotatably mounted in the bushing andhaving its inner end engaging the actuating member, a handle secured tothe outer end of the shaft to rotate it in either direction, a pulleyrotatably mounted on the bushing, a pin secured to one side of thepulley to engage said handle when the pulley is rotated in one directiononly, and means for attaching pull-cords which extend from the pulley inopposite directions to the pulley to rotate it in said one direction,said pulley being rotatable in the other direction without operating theactuating member.

6'. In an operating structure for a switch disposed in a housing andhaving an actuating member, in combination, a bushing extending througha wall of the housing, a shaft rotatably mounted in the bushing andhaving its inner end engaging the actuating member, a handle secured tothe outer end of the shaft to rotate it in either direction, a pulleyrotatably mounted on the bushing, a pin secured to one side of thepulley to engage said handle when the pulley is rotated in one directiononly, means for attaching a pull-cord to the pulley to rotate it in saidone direction, and spring means for biasing the pulley in the otherdirection, said pulley being rotatable in thev other direction withoutoperating the actuating memher.

7. In an operatin structure for a switch disposed in a housing andhaving an actuating memher, in combination, a bushing extending througha wall of the housing, a shaft rotatably mounted in the bushing andhaving its inner end engaging the actuating member, a handle secured tothe outer end of the shaft to rotate the shaft in either direction, apulley rotatably mounted on the bushing, a pin secured to one side ofthe pulley to engage said handle when the pulley is rotated in onedirection only, and means for attaching pull-cords which extend from thepulley in opposite directions to the pulley to rotate it in said onedirection, said handle beingfree to rotate the shaft independently ofthe pulley, said pulley being rotatable in the other direction withoutoperating the actuating member.

8. In an operating structure for a switch disposed in a housing andhaving an actuating member, in combination, a bushing extending througha wall of the housing, a shaft rotatably mounted in the bushing andhaving a bifurcated inner end engaging the actuating member, a handlesecured to the outer end of the shaft to rotate the shaft in eitherdirection, actuating means rotatably mounted on the bushing to engagesaid handle when the actuating means is rotated in one direction only,means for attaching a pullcord to the actuating means to rotate it insaid one direction, spring means for biasing the actuating means in theother direction independently of the handle, and stop means for limitingthe rotation of the actuating means.

9. In an operating structure for a switch disposed in a housing andhaving an actuating member, in combination, a bushing extending througha wall of the housing, a shaft rotatably mounted in the bushing andhaving a bifurcated inner end engaging the actuating member, a handlesecured to the outer end of the shaft to rotate it in either direction,a pulley rotatably mounted on the bushing, a pin secured to one side ofthe pulley to engage said handle when the pulley is rotated in onedirection only, means for attaching pull-cords which extend from thepulley in opposite directions to the pulley to rotate it in said onedirection, spring means for biasing the pulley in the other directionindependently of the handle, said handle being free to rotate the shaftindependently of the pulley, and stop means for limiting the rotation ofthe pulley.

JAMES O. REXROAD.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 480,732 Meaker Aug. 16, 1892 692,427 Clay Feb. 4, 1902 780,366Metten Jan. 17, 1905 1,031,399 Tirrill July 2, 1912 1,773,879 Sharp Aug.26, 1930 2,471,425 Grant May 31, 1949 2,521,806 Roman Sept. 12, 1950FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 475,409 Germany Apr. 24, 1929331,153 Italy Oct. 30, 1935

